March 2013 Archives

Our team always jokes around that
our coach, Jamie comes up with these captivating quotes that need to be
documented in some way. My teammate, Miya thinks that his 'daily quotes' need
to be written in those calendars where there's always an inspirational quote
featured on the top of each page. Well at least for the sake of the blog, I am
going to try to capture a memorable quote from Jamie throughout the week that I
can use as my opening thought and could in fact inspire you readers as much as
it does to my team and me. Some might even humor you as much as some do to us
as well.

Our team mascot, Munchie (the
squirrel) seems to have been M.I.A. these days...and it has started to worry us. It
is no wonder, though, when all we
did was feed him a ridiculous amount of trail mix...How can he turn down an ample
supply of the munchies? So he's clearly been overdosing on the nuts...I mean,
it's normal for a squirrel to be nuts about 'nuts' but we may have taken it a
little far. We'll definitely have to ease up on those generous donations of
food to our beloved mascot.

Your LMU Lady Lions clinched a huge
win over Princeton on Thursday against No. 62 ranked Princeton! After
fluctuating in and out of the rankings, we jumped back into the No. 75 this
week, and only to prove that we will continue to fight for a deserving spot in
the top. After losing the doubles point, we knew we had to come out strong for
the singles. It came down to Kristine's match on court 5, and she won so we
claimed a 4-3 victory over the Tigers! On any given day, I know we can beat any
team. That is just so 100% confident I am in my team. Not only do we have the
talent to do so, but because we have the heart and determination. Jamie and
Ivan always reiterate to us that are capable of beating any team we come across
as long as we are disciplined enough to execute the games that each of us do
have and that can really become effective for us as we get into the crucial
part of the season.

I want to give a huge shout out to
Kristine who is a perfect example of someone who put up a tenacious fight against
Princeton this past week. She proved that she will do whatever it takes to
win...to give every last bit of energy and drive to get there. She is such an
inspiration!

The Lions continued the dominance
into Saturday after our win over Dartmouth to cap off our Ivy League-filled
weekend of competitors. Both of these teams played with strategic and tactical
approaches that took a little time to adjust, but it was nothing that our Lady
Lions couldn't handle. We played with patience and perseverance and it showed!

We are approaching Conference
matches this coming week! Yeah, it's getting real. This is when it really
counts! So we gotta keep that fired-up intensity. As we go into our Spring
Break long weekend, we will get into two heated battles against University of
San Francisco (USF) on Thursday and Santa Clara on Saturday.

We
found out that our coach is a celebrity this week...On our schedule for the week,
Coach Jamie informed us that we would attend the baseball game on Tuesday
against Long Beach which came as somewhat a surprise to us considering most
baseball practices/games normally conflict with our tennis practices/games. Our
initial thoughts were, "Cool, we can go out and support the baseball team since
we rarely get to see them play" Jamie, however, had ulterior motives for our
attendance of the game.

"Isn't anyone going to ask why we're going to the baseball
game"? Jamie asked us. Little did we know that our very own coach would be
throwing the first pitch in the game. Our faces all lit up when he told us. We
are in the presence of a celebrity! We know how big of an impact Jamie has made
to LMU, as an alum, coach and inspiration, so we should have realized that who
better to throw out one of the first pitches for a baseball game than him. I
mean, let's be real, he basically is an LMU celebrity...

This
week in strength training, Nick stressed how important it is for us to maintain
our same workouts in the gym each week and to refrain from changing up the
routine. This is so we will not feel fatigue from pushing too hard in weight on
a particular exercise. I think that's a definitely a safe move considering we
are in the middle of season and have matches on average at least once or twice
a week. By sticking with the same exercises, we are challenging ourselves to
peak in strength by progressively going up in weight each week. That's right,
us Lady Lions got muscles! I know I can personally admit that I have not woken
up the following day from lifting where I was so sore and couldn't move. So
that's a plus for sure.

This
past Saturday, we faced New Mexico for an 11 am game time. We took care of
business and ended up with a 5-2 victory. Despite some neck and neck battles,
we came up on top, which gave us a little ego boost for working well with
pressure situations. Getting through tough situations like these will help us
be more prepared for Conference matches just around the corner, come the end of
the month in fact.

We
have two matches this coming weekend. The Ivy schools are making their way to
the 'west coast' aka the 'best coast' for some competitive matches. We play
Princeton on Thursday and Dartmouth of Saturday. Come support the Lady Lions in
their final matches before we get into Conference matches. We would really
appreciate it! And spread the word!

First
and foremost, I must announce that your LMU Women's Tennis team has just jumped
into the rankings for the first time in 6 years! We have now captured the No.
72 spot, and are only moving up from here! This was great news to start off our
Spring Break, that's for sure...

While
Cabo was on a lot of LMU students' agendas this Spring Break, our tennis team
had other plans. I can finally cross 'hiking the Hollywood sign' off the bucket
list because that has been a long-time goal of mine ever since I moved to LA to
go to college. Than it was off to Palm Springs for the BNP Paribas Open. It was
such a blast! Who needs Cabo when we are making unforgettable memories in the
desert with the best team around?

The night we arrived, we
unexpectedly ran into tons of pro's who were playing in the tournament. It
seemed every time we would turn a corner, we would recognize someone, as if it
was just an old friend, and not the fact that we are simply star-struck tennis
fans. The adrenaline that was going through our heads at that point was through
the roof. We were casually walking off our dinner in this outdoor mall and
boom, tall, hunky tennis players galore. You can spot that tennis player's
physique from a mile away!

It was a quick trip, but jam-packed
nonetheless. Coach Jamie would get us up for an early 6:45 wake-up call so we
can have a nice breakfast and than head out to the courts for some training.
It's amazing how cold and windy the desert can be in the morning, which created
quite the obstacle playing tennis in the early hours. But hey, it's good for
practice.

After
we got our work done on the court, it was time to watch the pros in action!
It's amazing to see how much more inspired we become to play better after
watching the pros battle. Their athleticism and mental toughness is hard not to
notice. I think our team enjoyed watching the pro's play on the practice courts
so we could get an exclusive look to their warm-up and practice routines. And
the best part about the practice sessions is that they spend quite a bit of
time pleasing the fans with pictures and autographs. So naturally, the Lady
Lions flocked to the front of the crowd to get close to the players any chance
we got. And I must say that we got quite a few pictures with the big stars. You
can say it easily made our lives to get that 3 second pose with the top players
of the game. I think I can speak on behalf of my whole team that we would love
to make an annual trip to the BNP because it conveniently falls during our
Spring Break each year. Food for thought Jamie...

I
was working a lot of the time behind the scenes with Media because I landed an
internship with "Inside Tennis" magazine as a journalist. I have been working
with them since last November, and I have had the privilege of interviewing a
lot of people in the professional tennis industry who I truly admire, so that's
been an incredible honor. Specifically at the BNP, I had the opportunity to
listen into press conferences and "take in" the daily routine of what a
journalist goes through during the midst of such a great and credible
tournament like the BNP Paribas Open. My boss, Bill Simons who is the Editor
and Publisher of the magazine had faith in me to strike up a question during a
press conference. My first thoughts were, "there's no way...I would be so
nervous!" But I think eventually, I will have the guts to speak up and compose
a question.

Following
the tournament, our coach went to Las Vegas to attend the WCC Hall of Honor
Bruch of former athletes. One of his former players was being recognized in a
huge honor. Edit Pakay was not just a star tennis player, but she also shined
in cross-country as well. As a two-sport athlete, she set the bar so incredibly
high for future athletes at LMU. She did cross-country in the fall and tennis
in the spring. Wow! As a cross-country runner, one of Pakay's biggest
accomplishments was winning the WCC Women's Cross Country Championship 5K. In
tennis, Pakay led the Lady Lions to a victory over Pepperdine to win the 2002
WCC Women's Tennis Team Championships. She also managed to post a 63-41 singles
record in her career which placed her ninth in the LMU record books for career
winning percentage. That's awesome to know that such an accomplished athlete
made her mark on the LMU grounds.

The
momentum of landing the No. 72 spot in the rankings has worked to our advantage
as we managed to take the "W" over Cal Poly on Sunday 5-2. I am so proud of our
team for finishing off our spring break with a solid win.

This
coming Saturday, we will face New Mexico at 11 AM. We would really love to see
you all out there!